The story of my new tires

Last Saturday I went to pick up my daughter and her man for a trip to the airport. They were going to Jamaica for winter break. With his two children, three dogs and fish to be cared for in their absence, they were under pressure to complete many obligations before meeting their departure deadline. Arriving at their house, which is set on an incline, I managed to add to their stress by sliding around in their driveway until my Honda was put out of its misery by a snow bank.

My car was released to duty by flinging salt around it, shoveling and breaking up stubborn slabs of ice, and by Bob’s good old-fashioned skill (once he released the hand brake). The shameful neglect of my tires, particularly in this tough winter, was thoroughly exposed. While I was aware that at least two of my original tires had been rolling on along on borrowed time since my car inspection in July and that I had been slipping and sliding more than usual this winter, I had been putting off the expense. By now I clearly needed four new tires, as well as the alignment also mentioned in July and now way overdue. “Geez, Mary, you must have REALLY hit a bump in the road!” was how the garage had tactfully alerted me.

My daughter hinted strongly that she hoped I would have new tires on her return. So did I.

Trouble is, what with one thing and another, (the death of my cell phone, the holiday weekend and social obligations, but mainly the availability of the tires), the garage where I usually go would not be putting on the tires until Presidents’ Day.

The back story on this garage involves the incredibly high estimate they had thrown at me for new tires and alignment before I left in July with my new inspection sticker. I had been going there off and on for over 15 years with various cars and mixed results, but certainly I should have (oh those sad and twisted regrets!) tried different places that specialized in tires or even (gasp!) consulted the dealer.

As an aside, just in case you might wonder, my husband had long ago abandoned this garage, which he had initially adopted as an innocent newcomer to the U.S. on my recommendation.

However, by last Friday I was worked up, panicked, and convinced that any driving beyond Albany without new tires was too risky. Since I absolutely needed those tires on by the following Wednesday for a scheduled trip to Utica, I cravenly stopped by the familiar garage. When I complained about the estimate I had received, the guy on the desk easily located significantly cheaper tires. I came on Monday afternoon as arranged and sat down to wait, soon riveted by last year’s semi-courtroom drama novel Defending Jacob.

It seemed like I had barely turned a page before a mechanic was standing in front of me. He asked if I had the key to the Honda’s special lug nut for each tire. I was so flabbergasted by what he wanted that he lost hope at once. He explained that it was a security feature for the hub caps. He had looked around the car, in the various cup-holders and glove compartment (a bit cheeky, that) to no avail. A further look in the area of what I call the “toy tire” by no less than three guys revealed nothing but the empty sac where this mysterious key, unique to each car, should have been.

Since these were my original tires, never removed, and this very shop was the last place anyone had been examining my car and tires, we were all at a loss – or at least I was. After some rushing around and whispered consultations, I was assured they would somehow get these locked lug nuts off to remove the tires. As I reopened my book, I was alarmed to hear many hard-hitting banging noises coming from the garage. It sounded like my car was being beaten up. I cringed in my plastic chair, filled with misgivings.

The party was not yet over. The mechanic soon reappeared with a sample of the TPMS (tire pressure monitoring sensor) that, he said sadly, they were trying to preserve in the transfer as mine was nearly rusted apart. Now we all know that this guy could have been showing me a UFO can opener for all I knew. He knew that too but respectfully provided an earnest explanation anyway, ending as always with a medical twist: “We’ll do our best to save it, but…” followed by a further sad shake of his head. Man! How that familiar script does echo down through the years. In EVERY garage.

At last I noticed my car parked back outside. I bravely went up the counter where, as I examined my printout and asked for clarification of some items, my invoice was recalculated several times with some further discounts provided. The total was approximately $60 more than the estimate I had received on the phone and a few hundred dollars less than the one in July. I was asked if I was satisfied by a tense desk guy, who was a bit red in the face, so I said yes. I was reminded by the mechanic standing by to bring back the car after driving 25 miles on the new tires for “re-torquing.”

The next day as my friend Dee and I were driving back to the shop for the re-torquing, an obscure message lit up on my dashboard regarding the TPMS. Monday’s mechanic was there to re-torque (I LOVE that word!) and to handle the TPMS message, which had occurred because of a failure to run the sensor through a protocol.

So…what did I take from my most recent experience at the chain repair shop?

1. I am sitting here now with my repair receipt and notice that no separate manufacturer’s warranty for my tires was included. It says “Mileage Warranty: 0” on my receipt but what about if the tires are defective? And was I ever actually provided with a written estimate?

2. My tires feel good.

3. Instead of taking proper and timely notice of my car’s tires, I procrastinated until the situation felt too urgent to look around and compare prices. Unfortunately, I am too often the victim of my own poor planning.

4. Hopefully, the new tires and alignment will improve my car’s mileage.

5. After many years as a lost lamb in the world of car repair and maintenance, I struggle with the suspicion that any repair shop is going to extract X amount of dollars from me no matter what I say or do. Just as when you are buying a car and your salesperson keeps running off to fetch yet another offer from – the coffee machine, I sometimes think – while a camera is trained on you slumped in your chair, and someone somewhere is definitely laughing.

6. I am so relieved to have my new tires.

7. Did I, on this occasion, get screwed? Probably a bit, but I do not like to think so…so here is what I do to comfort myself: In my mind I average up all the hundreds of car repair/maintenance experiences I have had in my life so far. Once I factor in all the mercy that was shown to me over the years (as I tried to keep my shaky used vehicles on the road) with repair bills that were blatantly a crime, it pretty much zeros out. In my head anyway. Another comforting thing I do is to divide the bills by 12 and show myself that the repairs are still FAR less than a monthly car payment. However, I understand that many would view these methods as magical thinking.

8. My tires feel really good.

Readers? Stories?

Mary Martin

26 Responses

Golly, Mary, where to begin. Tires are a bit of a sore point with me right now. I have this car (name not provided lest I be sued by the car dealer for revealing this info)that is leased. Lease is up in November. You’ll remember that for the past two years, snow has not been a real problem around these parts. Little did I know that snow is a HUGE problem for this car. First big snowstorm, I was in shock. Had I lost my driving in snow skills? I was getting stuck in places everyone else barreled on through, I couldn’t make it up the hill to my house while others drove blissfully by, and even stopping for a light caused the car to spaz out when I tried to start moving forward. Then, I did what I always do when faced with a question I cannot answer – I Googled it. I discovered a very long thread on CarGuru.com regarding the inability of these cars to handle even the slightest amount of snow. Turn off the ESC and get snow tires was the advice. Much weeping and gnashing of teeth on my part because the lease is up soon. $500 for tires is a lot for a car I now know I’m definitely turning in. I was not alone. Lots of wailing on this discussion thread. Angry people talking about suing, relieved people from Minnesota, Buffalo, Chicago happy to find out they were not alone and had not lost their driving skills, and unhappy people like me whose lease was to be up soon and were now faced with buying snow tires or not driving. And that was the choice. The car was so unsafe to drive, that I really felt I had no choice. While I could walk to work, walking is no fun at all after major snowstorms, so that was out. Bought the tires, turned off the ESC, all good now. Except for our budget. I love the car otherwise, but still unhappy about tires. I feel your pain. And by the way, don’t we all procrastinate?

Ugh, Chris! You poor thing! Looks like we should both have Googled our cars before taking them on. My friend has a different model of Honda and says it is crap in snow – and SHE has a stick shift! The amount of snow and nasty road conditions apparently has caused more than one of us to take a hard look at our cars. By the way, what is ESC on a car; I only know it on the keyboard? Glad you are safer now.

Mary, ESC is Electronic Stability Control, which apparently is for when the car is on dry roads. It seems to work against you when trying to drive in the snow. Sounds wrong, but turning it off helps you better control the car in the snow. At least on my car.

Thank you, Chris. I’m beginning to feel strongly that car dealerships should offer monthly tutorials. Think how wonderful it would be to learn every benefit and quirk of your new car and get the most benefit out of it. Also winter tutorials could show you all the tricks to obtain the best control of your particular car in all conditions.

So, on tires…I have had the same car since late 2005, when I bought it new. At the time, I lived in an apartment where the parking lot was cleared of snow for me. No issues. It’s a front wheel drive sedan.

In Fall of 2007, I bought my house, set on top of a little hill. I didn’t think much of ithat hill at the time, but that first snow fall left 4 inches of snow and it became my nemesis. There is a slight descent leading to the entrance of my driveway. I stopped just before this stopped and the driveway began, and pressed the button on the garage door remote. Feeling intelligent, I figured I would gun it for the garage floor. Once the garage door was up, I tried to get up the driveway and in. Yeah, good plan. I didn’t even get the entire car into the driveway!

I backed up, left the garage door open, and drove around the block. I was sure I’d gone wrong in coming to a full stop before starting the driveway. The next time, I was “smart.” I stepped on the gas about 15 yards from the start of the driveway. I got halfway up before skidding sideways and getting stuck. Eventually, after several more tries, I got out and shoveled the driveway.

This became a trend. It went on for 5 whole years! I finally got snow tires for the first time in early 2012. Yes, after I’d had the car for 7 years and had issues getting up my own driveway for 5. I still wonder why I waited so long- those two tires give me peace of mind that is well worth the cost!

Oh, Julie, I so relate, both to your determination to conquer your slippery driveway AND your procrastination on taking proactive steps to make it happen. Of course, we were lulled by the strangely snowless winters of the past several years. I am happy for your present confidence – in the nick of time as it happens. Thanks for sharing your experience. I was riveted.

OK, Here we go. I haven’t bought a new tire since 1991 mainly because used tires with 80-85% tread are mounted and balanced for $50-$55.
Used tire dealers are in every city and town in America. New Interstate batteries(Blems)can be purchased from local Interstate distributors(not dealers) for $45.00 for most cars & trucks.
Julie, You have to hit that driveway with the rock salt spreader before you go to work and it will work for you till you get back home.
Just a few thoughts from a big mouth Irish guy who listens to his wife once in a while. Jim

Ah, Jim, NOW you tell me! I seem to be totally without resources or savvy when it comes to keeping cars on the road. You’ll be helping out some other readers, that’s for sure. Or are you saying that this wisdom is all from your wife?

TPMS sensors can be a costly part to repair and in my humble opinion not needed. All they do is electronically measure your tire pressure and let you know if its low. So, if you routinely check your tires, say when you fill up your gas tank, there really is no need to replace them.

In the future, when you need car repairs, I suggest you bring your car to a shop where someone you know, and trust, works. Hmmmmm, good idea!! 😉

CAM! “know and trust” sounds perfect, but how many of us have such a place? I did look up the TPMS sensors, and you are right: they can be very expensive. You sound like a very competent woman when it comes to keeping your car rolling along safely. You have my respect.

I hate buying tires from dealers/garages, as well. A friend of mine who is into cars researched and recommended a brand of tires for my car that I love. I just find the best deal online (they get delivered to your door), and then pay $100 for a shop to put them on.

Sure…I have a Subaru Impreza and he recommended Kumho Ecsta tires. They handle beautifully in the snow (never used snow tires); and last about 5 years with hard driving (I commute 40 min each way and am not gentle on cars).

Thanks so much, ETB. Unfortunately, I already have my tires for the next few years (hopefully!), but some readers will benefit by this recommendation, I am sure. Glad to learn there’s another “not gentle” person on cars out there.

Thank you, Magpies! There is nothing like the voice of experience, your OWN experience, to get the good, fair deals out there for others.
And I agree. Some of those places should be ashamed, but since they obviously are not, we need to take care of each other.

I love your point #7. I recently, after putting it off for too long, had my car inspected which involved over $600 of various repairs. This was the only money, other than gas and a little oil, that I’ve had to invest since buying used it 20 months ago. A friend, upon hearing me complain about the bill bragged that he just had his new truck inspected and it only cost him $10, I asked him how much his car payments added up to over the last 20 months…answer: $6400…$2K more than I paid for my van including the recent repairs. Who’s bragging now?

Don’t even get me started on tires! I bought a used car in August with what appeared to be great tires. All was well until December when in the span of 6 weeks had 2 tire blow outs at night on the highway. What a nightmare. After the first one I was told it was just a fluke so I only replaced that one but after the second blowout I had them replace the rest of them. And AAA coming to my rescue…I waited 2 hours the first time on the side of a highway, alone in the dark. Not fun.

Oh, Lisa R, I feel for you. Apparently what was in the eye of the beholder (great tires) was really in the pocket of the seller (great profit). I have had my share of used car woes, believe me! Your wait for AAA disturbs me. Whenever I have called (lo, those many times) the operator has usually checked to make sure my situation is safe. It mostly was, but I would assume if it was not that some priority would be given to my plight. I hope you complained to the organization. You might be able to spare someone else your bad experience.

My total sympathies, and a great big chuckle at the UFO can opener! Can’t say which I prefer, the dentist’s chair or the garage waiting room, with the smell of gasoline, and the TV blaring, and the tension of what will they tell me next. Love it.

Oh Mary – I can so relate to your tire experience. Actually, what got me was the locked lugnuts and the TPMS gadget – yeah, right – like who would know this stuff? I loved your stunned reaction and could picture you, speechless and with mounting anxiety, as they proceeded to say they could work around these things. But more than anything else, I am SO GRATEFUL to Chris for explaining the ESC button I have on my car and had NO IDEA what to do with it. Did give it a try when I wound up in snowbanks a couple of times but since the ESC was on and one would think that was the BEST position for it to be in when trying to ESCAPE in such a situation, who would have thought to turn it OFF???? Thank you – I will do so. Good post, Mary, and good comments from your readers!